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Bullied Bus Monitor Gets An Apology, Half A Million In Donations

Two of the middle school kids who brutally bullied a school bus monitor in Greece, New York are apologizing to Karen Klein.

MSNBC says they've sent notes to police who have forwarded them to Klein.

"I am so sorry for the way I treated you," one of the student said in a statement. "When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that. I will never treat anyone this way again."

The father of another student said: "I would like it if he could do some work for you or help you in some way. I am embarrassed, angry and sad about the awful way he treated you."

The Democrat and Chronicle reports that Klein has kept her head up and refused any retaliation against the kids.

The Chronicle reports that both the Athena Middle School principal and some of the kids who were allegedly involved in the incident have received threats since the video went viral.

"This is going too far," Klein told the Chronicle. "This is no better than the kids who did that on the bus."

"I feel kinda bad for them and their families because of what's going on," she said. "They're being harassed terribly and I don't like that. I don't want any harm to come to them."

The Chronicle reports that the school is weighing punishments.

But one good thing has come of this incident: The world, eager to make Klein's life a little brighter, have donated more than $500,000 to an online "let's give Karen Klein a vacation" campaign.

We made a call to Indiegogo, which is hosting the campaign. A spokeswoman says the money will go directly to Klein, who has already set up her bank account for the transaction.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.